Just a Ring Away
by therewithasmile
Summary: AU: Maka loses her cellphone; the white-haired, grumpy-looking movie-rental cashier guy finds it. Fluff, SoMa.


Maka forgot her cellphone.

That was likely inaccurate, actually, because Maka never left her house before checking her pockets twice as she left the door. There was a high chance she had, in fact, _lost _her phone- but that was something she'd never admit.

Truth be told, she was pretty sure where she _had_left it.

It was probably back in the rental store she had just left; left behind with the angry-looking cashier who had checked out her romcom flicks with a careful mask of indifference. He looked like he didn't want to be there, and honestly, he didn't look the part either. White hair, piercing red eyes, and a smirk to boot, Maka had noticed his lips twitch when he flipped through the covers, but to her mild surprise he said nothing as he had swiped them wordlessly through the scanner and dumped the contents into a plastic bag for her to hold.

Shit.

She wasn't sure if her three selections were worth the lost phone.

Maka sighed. Liz always picked the worst times to text her anyway. She was merely browsing through some movies when her phone had gone off. Now that she could concentrate, she remembered that she replied and… placed the phone flat on the shelf as she reached for the movie that was apparently the sacrifice for her mobile. Maybe some dumb kid took her phone off the shelves. The possibility worried her but she tried not to panic, after all it was password protected until someone called her.

Calling her phone – maybe that was something she should try.

She wasn't sure who'd picked it up in the first place. Certainly not the cashier, she thought, as he looked the type to certainly ditch as soon as he was off his shift. Perhaps she shouldn't be making assumptions, but then again, Maka had never once struck up a conversation with him. Not that she could, anyway, he always had headphones in, and, when he wasn't plugged in, he was somehow lost in his own world, only lapsing momentarily to do his job. People would hire anyone these days, she thought with a tinge of bitterness.

But that bitterness faded into more anxiety as she held Liz's phone to her ear the next day. She tried to ignore her friend's stare as Maka paced, one heel tapping the ground impatiently as the slighter blonde squeezed her eyes shut. The normally dull rings in her ear suddenly seemed ten times more stressful, each passing ring causing Maka's heart to stutter. She wasn't sure what she was more afraid of, having the line be cut or having some ignorant six year old pick up _her_cellphone.

The consequent _hello? _was about ten times lower in pitch than her imagination.

Nervous butterflies flitted about in her stomach, a feeling she didn't quite grasp herself. "H-Hi," she said. _Stop being an idiot, you just want your phone back, _Maka chided.

Before she could even introduce herself, he said abruptly, "Sorry…Elizabeth? This isn't the person you're looking for."

"Actually, I am the person who _anyone _calling your phone should be looking for," Maka replied, ignoring Liz's rather offended mouthing of her own name. She batted a hand at the blonde. In her ear, the male let out a small_oh_. "Where did you find this phone, anyway?"

There was a slight silence on his end, each passing second causing Maka's heart to beat unevenly before he finally replied, "Where I work. It was left behind in the shelves."

Oh. So maybe it was the sunny blond who worked there as a restocker, who'd always flashed her a warm smile as she passed through the aisles. Or maybe it was other cashier who worked there, who had sunglasses always on the top of his head, his hair pulled into a spiky ponytail. In fact, he _was_the regular cashier – it was only until the white-haired man got employed did she realize that they worked alternate shifts. She watched as Liz leaned in, her blue eyes wide as she gestured Maka to spill some info. But she merely shook her head in response, pressing the phone to her ear. "Cool, so it's still at the store?"

He chuckled. "As long as I'm still employed."

"Right, I'll call back later, okay?" She ignored Liz's third jaw-drop as he agreed and hung up first. She lowered the phone and her gaze as the taller blonde stood up and shook her.

"He sounded really hot from here."

"People can't _sound _hot, Liz," Maka said patiently as she handed the phone back to its owner. She had to agree with her, though. He voice sounded _warm_, comforting, a different kind of sonority she wasn't used to. She couldn't quite imagine what kind of person the voice would belong to, but if she had to guess, it was probably ponytail man. Liz only shook her head vehemently as she pocketed the phone.

"You have _no _idea, Maka, and why didn't you arrange a time?"

Maka blinked. Why _didn't _she arrange a time? If she were truthful, maybe a small part of her knew, but the rest of her was in distinct denial. So she answered hesitantly, and Liz only shook her head. "You're just drawing out the inevitable," she said sagely. And as fast as the wisdom came, her thoughtful expression was replaced with an offensive one. "And _Elizabeth? _I've been _telling _you since the _third grade_, only my mother calls me Elizabeth."

Maka sighed. The other, more obvious reason, why she didn't talk any further with mister Cashier was the fact that she didn't want this extra pair of ears listening in, no matter how close they were to her.

* * *

So she decided she'd do it the old school way, after all, she was already in the technologically-deprived mental state, to begin with. Maka had tried to phone from her house, but then her father barged in, intoxicated like no other. And she figured, since Liz had already made her swear she'd relay all the info, the last thing she needed was her dad putting a padlock on the phone so she wouldn't be calling "mystery men".

So here she was, resolving to use a phone booth. Not that she minded, really, for she always found the red phone booths to be interesting – she just never had a reason to enter one. And as the dial whirled back into place, Maka leaned against the glass panes, the familiar dial tone already loud in her ears.

It took even longer than the first time, but finally she heard the other side connect as he, once again, answered with a low hello.

"It's me, the owner of the phone," she said, holding the receiver with two hands and bringing it closer to her ear.

"Oh good," was the voice on the other end, "You've blocked all outside numbers, and I have no idea what your policy on picking _those_up are."

Maka shrugged, forgetting for a moment she wasn't really having a face to face conversation. "Eh, I usually don't pick it up. I only really have four or five people saved on my phone."

"Huh," said the voice thoughtfully. "Well, of course, I wouldn't know. You have your phone locked – not that I haven't tried." At her somewhat indignant gasp, he chuckled lowly. "Only twice. I swear I didn't lock you out or anything."

Maka found herself laughing despite herself. "Well good, because I would've decked you…-"

"- Soul."

_Soul_. The name fitted the voice, she thought. How interesting. She would have never imagined either of the coworkers to be named as such, but then again, she'd never bothered to strike up a conversation with either cashier. She could feel a smile on her lips. "Maka."

"Huh, that's a new one."

"It's Japanese. I'd be more surprised if you _had _heard it before."

"True," Soul said thoughtfully. There was a rush of air against her ear as he breathed out. "So can I say something stereotypical?"

_No._"Yes."

His voice quirked upwards ever-so-slightly, suddenly becoming a little excitable as he spoke. "You're Japanese, right? I found this phone in the horror section."

_Oh._"Okay?"

"And well, that got me thinking. You're not gonna crawl out of my tv and kill me in ten days, am I?"

She nearly snorted. "I'm not from the Ring. And it's seven days, you idiot."

His laughter was low, deep, and somehow caused her heart to stir despite herself. "You're right." They fell into a comfortable silence as she breathed slowly, somehow his presence on the other side of the line _comforting_. And yet, her heart thudded, almost painfully so.

"So you work at the rental store?" His _mm _of response was low. "Give me some recommendations."

There was another slight pause before he began to talk. "Well, I don't know, we probably don't watch all of the same things." At her encouragement, he finally relented. "Fine, fine, one of my all-time favorites is Inception-"

Maka tried not to groan. Tsubaki had recommended that movie when it was big, after it was up for all the nominations. Maka had listened to her friend try to explain the hype, but it just didn't interest her. But at her silence, she could hear his exclamation of _what_ loud and clear against her ear.

"It's a _classic_! A cinematic _spectacle_. How could you have not watched it? Actually don't answer that. You might break my heart." She tried to disguise her giggles of laughter into her hand as he hummed thoughtfully once again. "Fine. Something else. Gone with the Wind?"

She was silent.

He groaned. "_You're kidding me –_oh wait. You're a horror gal. Sawako and all that shit." She snorted out loud. He was somehow charming, despite his gruff language and interesting movie choices. As she shifted her weight from one foot to another, he piped up again after a moment's silence. "When you pick up your phone, you're definitely _also_checking those two out."

"Not in a million years," she responded dully as his laughter rung in the receiver. "I'll stick to my horror flicks, thanks."

And that was how her first conversation with Soul, the mystery rental shop worker, went.

* * *

She hadn't meant to take this long, but her work schedule piled up on top of her homework, and soon two days passed. It wasn't like she went to the rental shop often, anyway. Granted, she did feel at a bit of a loss without her phone, though it _was_true she didn't have many contacts. Besides, this Soul character seemed to know what he was doing; after all he had promised to pick up any blocked calls, but to hang up if they were anyone but her. She also made him swear to not pick up any named calls, after all she had already told those who mattered that she'd lost her cell.

"And if you see Papa flash on screen, _ignore it._He'll probably bombard you with five million questions, _and _a ton of bricks, if he realized a boy was answering my phone."

He had laughed again and promised to do so before he had hung up.

So here she was, two days later, leaning once more against the glass panes of the phone booth as she waited for him to pick up. He did a few rings later, and only at her hushed _it's me_ did he greet her.

"You haven't come yet."

"No, sorry, I've been busy."

"I see," his voice was thoughtful in her ear. "What do you study?"

"Literature."

He snorted in the receiver. "Sounds boring."

"It's very interesting, thank you. And you?"

He paused before answering. "Music."

Somehow she could see that, him with his hair tied up and strumming a guitar. It fit his image, after all, and though she had spent some time dwelling on what he looked like, Maka didn't really realize at which point she'd begun assuming it was the dark-haired ponytail cashier and not the other sunny yellow nor bleach white workers.

"That must be hard."

"If you want to know, you should watch _Amadeus._" He sighed at her silence. "Yet another classic you need to watch."

Maka couldn't help but to laugh as she clutched the receiver tighter. "Where do you find all this time to watch movies, anyways?"

"Depends, where do you find time to read books?"

"I _have_ to read books, it's part of my major." His hiss of mock pain made her roll her eyes. "Whatever, you suck."

He sniffed. "How mature."

Maka was enjoying herself, that much she would admit. As they continued their conversation, she'd soon forgotten the only reason why they were talking in the first place. It was as if she'd known him all her life, chatting and bickering like old friends. As she watched the sun fully set on the outside as she responded to another one of his easygoing teases, she couldn't help but to lament the fact that she had never _really _spoken to him in person.

She didn't know who he was at all.

* * *

Three days passed, and each night, they'd talk without fail.

* * *

She turned over two films in her hand, one a romcom, the other a mystery. She frowned when she saw the snowy-haired cashier working, headphones over his ears as usual, his red eyes downcast and not even bothering to lift as she approached. A pang of disappointment flooded her; she had hoped for the other cashier, the dark-haired one, and maybe she'd be able to get her cellphone back. Though she'd called the night before, he hadn't picked up. But no, today, it was the white haired, grumpy looking one.

Just like always, she wordlessly handed the movies off to him as he equally wordlessly checked them out for her. Her fingers drummed against the counter, waiting for him to, wordlessly, hand over her receipt. When he placed the bag on the table, she, wordlessly, took it and left the store, receipt in one hand.

It was only when she was on the subway did she check her receipt.

She saw who had checked out her movies.

Her jaw dropped.

Looks like she was wrong, after all.

* * *

"Hello?"

His voice was strange in her ear, seeing as she had always associated it with a different face.

"Hi," she replied.

"Sorry for not picking up yesterday – I had some family matters. I hope it doesn't mean you were planning to stop by?"

_I already have._"Uhm, no. It didn't. I just like talking to you, that's all." _That much isn't a lie._

There was a pause on his end before he said, just slightly quietly, "I like talking to you, too." He coughed once. "You're not boring."

And, like always, she found herself laughing, having forgotten her previous embarrassment by the words that seemed to come easily from him. "Thanks, I guess. Likewise." _Definitely. Who would've thought mister white-hair, red-eyed broody would be a movie critic by hobby?_

"Thanks," he copied. He paused once more. "So, I never got the chance to ask you-"

"- is this about that other one you've been droning about, The Kings Speech-"

"- no, but that is a _fantastic film _and you _still _have to watch it, along with the other ones, but no, that's not what I wanted to talk about. I guess I wanted to get to know more about you, aside from the fact you've lost your phone."

Maka blinked.

_Right. _As she had often forgotten, that was their one connection, anyways. Sure, she'd seen him at the movie rental store every so often, but he always seemed so _disconnected, _with headphones in his ears and his eyes downcast. And yet, with this phone, it was like they were friends, had known each other for decades.

And yet, this boy she was talking to, Maka was almost _scared_of. If she were to go by appearances alone, she would've never wanted to be seen with him. Her, a Dean's List literary student, with _him_. All the while he seemed like he _didn't_want to be approached to begin with. He seemed cold in person, but on the phone, he was _warm_, if his voice was anything to go by. An irrational fear spiked the base of her stomach. Somehow, it felt like if this one connection she had with him severed, they would go back to that – strangers.

No more nightly calls to look forward to, no more _genuine _laughs as he poked fun at her so easily, as if he'd known her for decades.

She didn't want her phone back.

Not if it meant giving up this.

* * *

Another two days passed; she made up excuses, he only voiced concerns over her phoneless state. She knew that her only fear was being _back_in possession of her phone, because it meant no more talking to _this _Soul.

* * *

His eyebrow raised as he took the movie from her's hand. If he was going to say anything, he didn't; and as usual, he wordlessly swiped the horror film along the sensor before handing it back to her. She, too, said nothing, as she took the movie and stowed it away.

She spotted it then, her cellphone – sitting just an arm's length away from his body.

She said nothing as she spun on her heel and walked away.

* * *

"- And then _that's _when the killer comes out, chainsaw and everything, and the girl is just _screaming _so hard she's turning purple, and you can tell it's so _fake_ it's hilarious."

He laughed in the receiver, his warm chuckle not only embarrassingly familiar but also elicited equally familiar sparks to run down her spine.

"You're not joking when you say you analyze the _shit _out of those movies," he murmured. And then he yawned into the receiver; he had said he was off work early and was at home. Maka didn't mind, the gesture just made him seem all the more closer to him.

Certainly closer than when they _were _in person, handing off movies to each other, whilst discussing them on the phone later.

"You kind of have to, horror movies and all that."

"Speaking of which, a girl came by earlier and checked one out."

Maka froze. He was obviously talking about her, she realized in horror. Oh god, what if he said something about her? She waited, her heart beating rapidly in her chest, as he continued nonchalantly. "Dead Silence, truth be told, she didn't look the type to watch those kinds of flicks. She usually only takes out other movies, romcoms and mysteries."

_Liar,_she thought. Those were the other two she'd taken out since they'd begun talking on the phone, granted, but she had _definitely _taken out a horror film or two while he was working the cash. Not that she minded the assumption, though; she still wanted to remain anonymous. As for why, she really couldn't put a finger on.

"Dead Silence is an interesting choice," Maka said evasively.

"I'll say. Actually she seems a bit like you. Well, except she's blonde. But that's besides the point."

Well, it wasn't _besides the point,_she thought, but she shrugged the thought away.

* * *

He glanced at the movie she haphazardly tossed onto the counter. She watched him carefully for his reaction, but there was none to be observed. She tried not to feel the distinctive bite of disappointment in her stomach. But it was only when she had dropped her gaze when he chose to talk.

"Inception… good choice."

She shrugged.

His voice was different in person.

She said nothing as he swiped the movie under the sensor. He said nothing as she took the film and walked away.

* * *

She watched the movie.

It wasn't that bad.

* * *

"So uh, are you gonna pick up your phone?"

Maka froze.

She'd lost track of the days, really, and it actually wasn't all that bad. It forced her friends to actually _see_her to hang out, and it meant she could properly avoid speaking to her father when she didn't want to talk to him during the peak hours of class when he'd choose to call.

But it _had _been almost three weeks.

She should've bought herself a new one, at this point.

"You make it sound like you want to get rid of it."

"Of course I do," he breathed. And then he sighed. "I feel bad holding onto your phone for so long."

"It's fine, it probably didn't ring often."

"Not that that's inaccurate, but it sucks how you've been too busy to pick it up."

She shifted her weight from one foot to the other. "Literature and stuff."

"I can see how you're _literate."_Maka could _see_ him chuckling at his own joke. _Dork._

She slow her heartbeat as she chided him through his half assed apologies. "Seriously, I'll see if I can come by."

There was silence from his end, but Maka swore she could sense his relief, watch his eyes light up, feel the smile that spread across his lips.

* * *

"How was it?"

His question caught her off guard; she had just begun to walk away from the counter before his voice interrupted her. He tapped the box for Gone With The Wind, his red eyes bleating into hers as she swallowed.

She took a deep breath.

"Not bad," she said quietly, lowly, her voice a little higher than normal, though against her own volition.

If he was surprised, he didn't show it.

Not that he ever did.

She watched as his hand moved, and soon it was outstretched.

"I believe this is yours."

She looked down to her own cellphone, and then back at him. He was smiling.

"Guess you caught me."

"To be fair, you weren't being very subtle."

And she laughed once more, though this time, it was gratifying to see his face soften. It was no longer her imagination.

"By the way, you wanted a movie recommendation?"

She gave a half smile. "Well, I was gonna go get a horror flick, but I'm all ears."

He pulled out a movie from under the desk. _And he calls me subtle._"How does this look?"

She glanced down at the box and grimaced. _Forest Grump _stared back at her. She grimaced. "Boring."

"Perfect. I'm off shift in an hour." She could've sworn his triumphant grin was infectious. So she smiled back.

"I guess it's a date."


End file.
